Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 20,558 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 250,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,558 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $9,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 162.6% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in BankUnited by 462.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 22,981 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BankUnited stock opened at $40.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.09.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BKU. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

BankUnited Profile

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services.